In the end, cellphones switched off terror

Every evening, from 7.45 pm to 8.45 pm, Chambal’s terror Nirbhay Gujjar used to switch on his two mobiles for anyone wishing to call hi...

Every evening, from 7.45 pm to 8.45 pm, Chambal’s terror Nirbhay Gujjar used to switch on his two mobiles for anyone wishing to call him up. His love for mobiles—police seized a manual mobile charging unit near his body—took his life.

The Special Task Force (STF) worked on a simple formula. Gujjar had two numbers, one of Uttar Pradesh and the other Madhya Pradesh, which he used according to his location. Electronic surveillance of these numbers for the last six months enabled STF to zero-in on his location in the jungles. A tip-off sealed the dacoit’s fate.

Till six months ago and during his entire 25-year run from law, Gujjar was the target of just the Etawah Police, who engaged him in six encounters in the last one year. But Gujjar managed to give cops the slip each time.

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‘‘We realised that information about operations of the Etawah Police was being leaked. So, the STF was asked to take over,’’ says UP DGP Yashpal Singh.

The STF worked on the basis of complete secrecy. Just one man—SSP STF Akhil Kumar Srivastava—knew the task till Gujjar’s killing in Etawah last night. So even as STF teams kept rushing in and out of Etawah during the last six months on the basis of inputs they got from tracking his mobiles, SSP Srivastava kept the target a secret.

Yesterday, the SSP got information that Gujjar was somewhere around Sitapur village in Ajitmal police station area of Etawah. A team of eight men left for the jungles immediately from Lucknow. ‘‘No one knew we were going to take on Gujjar, not even my DSP. We engaged him around 9 pm,’’ said SSP Srivastava. A bullet from Gujjar’s Ak-47 hit SSP Akhil Srivastava but his bullet-proof jacket saved him.

Besides Srivastava, there are other heroes as well. Like Ajitmal residents Lala Pradhan and Ram Avtar who guided the STF team inside the dense jungle. ‘‘Both showed great courage. The reward of Rs. 2.5 lakh would be distributed among all the informers. The police will not claim a single penny,’’ SSP Srivastava said.

Row over dacoit’s body

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ETAWAH (UP): The police have rejected the claim of Seema Parihar that the body be handed over to her, as there was no proof that she was Gujjar’s widow. The police said the possession of the body would be given to Gujjar’s family and not Parihar. SSP Chaudhary Daljit Singh said the body would be handed over to his family after post-mortem. Gujjar’s sister Raman had arrived in town to claim the body, police said. Parihar told reporters ‘‘Nirbhay has paid for his sins. Being his wife, I have to discharge my duty. I want to cremate it at Kashi (Varanasi).’’

In Fact

		NIRBHAYGUJJAR WHO: A dreaded dacoit, 48 years old, with a reward of Rs 2.5 lakh on his head. WHERE: He operated in the Chambal ravines that straddle Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh for over 25 years. He had a gang of around 70 and used sophisticated equipment, including AK47s and AK56s, long-range binoculars and bullet-proof jackets. WHAT: He mainly indulged in kidnapping and extortion. At the time of his death, he had 191 cases against his name, most of them for kidnapping and murder. WHAT HIS DEATH MEANS: The biggest baddie of Chambal is gone. Gujjar’s writ ran in 400 villages on UP-MP border and people here would feel freed of terror. It also means less embarrassment for the state government. Gujjar ahd repeatedly spoken of his close relations with CM Mulayam Singh Yadav. When the outlaw demanded political rehabilitation in the manner of Phoolan Devi’s, an irked Mulayam ordered last month that the ‘‘surrender policy’’ for dacoits be done away with.

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